Customer Reviews

The Robe of Skulls: The First Tale from the Five Kingdoms (Tales from the Five Kingdoms)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Just above the town of Fracture lies a ghastly castle with an even ghastlier occupant, Lady Lamorna, who is just plain freaky. Her latest wish is a magnificent black velvet gown that is studded with skulls. When she goes to pay for it she finds that her treasure chest is empty. Instead of canceling her order, Lady Lamorna concocts a plan to pay for the dress.

Her plan includes a couple of members of the royal party, some frogs, and blackmail.

Then there is Gracie Gillypot, a shy girl who spends most of her days locked up in the cellar under the stairs of her house. When she's not spending time with the spiders under the stairs she is running after her stepfather and complying with his every wish. When a talking bat finds her one day, he promises her a better life and takes off. Days later he returns and helps Gracie escape. He's taking her to see the Ancient Crones, who will hopefully be able to help her with her wicked stepsister and stepfather problem.

Last but not least there is the prince that scoots under Lady Lamorna's radar. Marcus is a rather curious prince who really doesn't want anything to do with royalty. When his brother is turned into a frog he is determined to find the person who committed this heinous crime. Through a twist of fate he is paired up with Gracie and they set off to put Lady Lamorna in her rightful place.

This book was an absolute riot. While it is a super-fast read, you will find yourself enthralled with the quirkiness of the characters and loving the story. The illustrations are very comical, too! While this is definitely a middle grade novel, it is definitely suited for older and younger readers alike. I really enjoyed the quick-moving plot that keeps taking twists and turns. I loved how the author connected everything in a way that wasn't predictable and added to the hilarity of the book.

Overall, I really liked THE ROBE OF SKULLS and highly recommend it!

Reviewed by: Tasha

For an adult, reviewing a children's book can be an awkward task. You're not a member of the book's target audience, and it isn't always easy-- or even possible-- to read or think the way a child would. In such circumstances, the most you can do is offer your own, adult opinion on the book's merits, with perhaps a guess as to how kids might feel. The best juvenile fiction is, of course, equally enjoyable for children of all ages. Vivian French's The Robe of Skulls isn't quite that good. Its world, characters, and plot are too simple to capture the imagination of most adults. But it is a charming and often funny story that's likely to delight some preteens, and might even provide adults who have a soft spot for such books with a couple hours of suitable entertainment.

The evil sorceress Lady Lamorna has decided that what she wants more than anything in the world is a new dress: a black velvet robe with motifs of ivy and spiderwebs-- and with skulls sewn along the hem. To pay for this fine garment, she plots to turn the princes and princesses of neighboring kingdoms into frogs and then offer to restore them, for a great reward, of course. Can Gracie Gillypot escape her tyrannical stepfather and cold, beautiful stepsister to thwart this scheme? Will Prince Marcus, twin brother to the threatened Prince Arioso, be any help? And just who are the Ancient Crones?

It's probably clear from this plot overview that the book makes liberal use of familiar fantasy motifs. The plucky orphan girl, the evil stepfamily, the bored young prince, the evil sorceress, her dimwitted servant, the magical weavers: they're all here. And their fates are what you might expect from every fairy tale you ever read. But originality is far from the most important ingredient in a good children's book; very few kids are going to be as jaded about genre cliches as the average adult reader, after all. French's writing is strong where it matters: in the humor that runs throughout the book. The jokes are pretty broad, but even so this adult found himself chuckling every few pages, whether at the anachronistic slang of the talking bat Marlon or the stupid yet loyal troll Gubble. Humor-tinged dark fantasy seems to be very fashionable in children's fiction lately, and The Robe of Skulls is a welcome addition to the subgenre.

It's also a very handsomely designed book. The delightful illustrations by Ross Collins offer the same balance between humor and creepiness as the book itself; the cover art is a fine example, though its vivid color makes it even more striking than the black-and-white internal art. The dust jacket is on decent paper stock and catches the light nicely; the physical dimensions of the volume are well-proportioned. In both content and presentation, The Robe of Skulls is well worth the $15 price tag.

When I first sat down to read, I worried that this book would feel like old hat, an unmemorable echo of other ghoulish children's books from recent years. I needn't have worried. The Robe of Skulls doesn't break new ground, but it's a skillful variation on a familiar theme, and I'd guess it will be quite entertaining for kids who enjoy this sort of book. Certainly I had some fun reading it. The dust jacket bills this as the first in the Tales from the Five Kingdoms series. If future volumes do appear, I can't say I'll rush out and buy them, but if I found them in the library I'd certainly pick them up and look forward to another couple hours of light-hearted fairy tale.

The Robe of Skulls is a delightful story about an old sorceress, a young girl, a prince, an evil stepsister, and a troll whose head is frequently getting knocked off.

Lamorna, the sorceress, orders a new robe only to discover she has no gold left to pay for it. To make the money she needs she and her troll hatch a plan to secretly turn several princes and princesses to frogs then to charge their parents an exorbitant fee to turn them back. In order to complete her task Lamorna must leave her castle for the first time in a hundred years.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I didn't know where the story was heading until after I'd read several chapters. Even then, it didn't quite go where I expected it to. The story has twists and turns as it bounds ever forward to an equally surprising ending.

My congratulations to Vivian French for writing such an entertaining story that I'll gladly recommend to family and friends. The Illustrations by Ross Collins added equally to my pleasure.

I truly enjoyed this book. It manages to be spooky without being scary, so that children can enjoy it. The book would be great to read aloud to children.

I loved the way the focus shifted from Gilly to Marcus to Lamorna and back so that each chapter was primarily about one character. It was fun to watch the three separate stories slowly progressing towards each other until finally paths crossed. What a great way to set up a book!

Readers of children's fiction, regardless of age, would enjoy this book. It was a delight to read.

I enjoyed reading this book. As an adult, I found the book to be a little bit too "young" for me. I love young adult books but would have to put this one in more of the older children's section. It was still a fun enough read that I'm looking to purchase the 2nd one in the series and go from there.
It's about an evil sorceress who wants a dress made by the Ancient Crones. The only problem is that the dress is going to be expensive and she has no money. So she sets out on an evil plot to blackmail the kings and queens of the realm. It's a battle against good and evil. Who will win? I enjoyed the characters the most. They were well written. My favorite was Marlon the bat. Loved that little guy! I also liked the illustrations throughout the book. The cover was the whole reason I bought it.
I recommend this book especially if you like fairy tales and tales of adventure.

I tend to use my kindle as a sort of preview tool, giving me a chance to try before I buy. For every ten or so books I read I usually find one or two I would actually purchase in physical form. I was hooked on this book from the first page. I will most definitely purchase more books from this talented author. I love her skill at making the reader laugh and feel as though they have been transported to a new world. Wonderful book

I am a big fan of Terry Pratchett's Tiffany Aching books, ("The Wee Free Men"), because I very much appreciate it when an author takes standard fairy tale conventions, turns them a bit askew, introduces a really appealing new character or two, and then spices it all up with witty dialogue and deadpan funny narrative.

Well, "beleaguered but brave" Gracie Gillypot is a direct descendant of Tiffany, but written for perhaps a just slightly younger audience. The plot is complicated but easy enough to follow. The secondary characters are nicely drawn. There are lessons to be learned here, and good triumphs, but it is all wrapped up in a very entertaining package. I would think a young reader would be very pleased about finishing this, and about getting some of the sly humor. It's just a book to feel good about.

My 9-yr old daughter and I loved this book and the next three in the series. This book is a fun read, with entertaining characters and an intricate, fun plot. The female character is a strong, independent girl and adventure lover. The author employs a sufficiently sophisticated style and good vocabulary and avoids the mild vulgarity that I have been surprised to find in some other series books for this age group. The author wrote a very wholesome series. It's likely not for children much beyond the 11-12 year old range.

An orphaned girl and the younger son of a King find themselves wrapped up in an evil witch's quest to pay for her new dress of skulls by kidnapping princes and princess and turning them into frogs. The wacky, silly fairy tale has some interesting original ideas, and the writing is perfect for young tastes, but no one else. A fun, light tale, lacking in solid characters, theme, or plot. An okay read for 3rd-5th grade readers, but kind of mediocre. Grade: B-

Well-written, good characters, fine adventure. Great for boys and girls. Get the series--it's a rare find.